Friday, May 18, 2012
The flame for the London Olympics was officially handed over to the British delegation, during a ceremony held at the Panathenaic Stadium on May 17. Following the lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia on May 10 and a 2900 km torch relay around Greece, the flame was brought to the historic stadium by Chinese gymnast Li Ning, -who had lit the cauldron at the 2008 Beijing opening ceremony- and three-time Greek Olympic champion Pyrros Dimas.
The ceremony was attended by Hellenic republic President Karolos Papoulias and Britain’s Princess Anne, who received the flame by the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Kapralos.
London Games chairman and twice Olympic champion Sebastian Coe, London’s mayor Boris Johnson and English football player David Beckham also attended the ceremony. The flame was guarded overnight at the British embassy and will be flown to the UK today.
A 70-day torch relay that will travel 12,800 km around Britain will follow, culminating with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in the Olympic Stadium on July 27, opening day for the London Olympics.
Greek News Agenda: Sacred Silence-The Olympic Flame is lit
State Budget Execution
According to data available for the execution of the State Budget for the period January-April 2012, on a modified cash basis, State Budget deficit amounted to €9,098 million, a significant improvement relative to the target deficit of €11,009 million set in the 2012 Supplementary Budget, the Finance ministry announced on May 11. During the same period, State Budget primary deficit amounted to €1,679 million, notably better relative to the €3,262 million primary deficit required to be in line with targets.
State Budget net revenues amounted to € 16,193 million, performing slightly below the target set in the 2012 Supplementary Budget (€ 16,641 million Euros) by € 448 million.
- GDP drops 6.2% in Q1
The Greek economy continued to be in deep recession in the first quarter of 2012, during which GDP dropped by 6.2%, according to flash estimates released on May 15 by Hellenic Statistics Authority (ELSTAT).
According to ELSTAT, available non-seasonally-adjusted data indicate that, in the first quarter of 2012, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices of year 2005 decreased by 6.2 % in comparison with the first quarter of 2011. Greece's GDP fell το €40.761 billion, from €43.448 billion in the first quarter of 2011.
The President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz will be in Athens today on a working visit. Schulz will be received by Hellenic Republic President Karolos Papoulias and will hold meetings with Greece’s party leaders and civil society representatives including youth groups and pensioners' representatives. In addition, in the afternoon, he will give a speech at the Athens Concert Hall, to be followed by a press conference.Greek News Agenda: Europarliament President in Athens [29.02.12]
The Athens International Video Art Festival, Greece’s biggest digital art and new media event, begins its 8th edition on May 18. Under the general concept Visualise Athens, the festival utilizes a 54,000 square feet building complex at the heart of the city’s historic centre, as well as the surrounding public spaces, to create a network of urban artistic interventions with free admission to all events. 
Following a record number of 6,000 initial enties, the festival brings together 300 artworks from 58 countries, 12 parallel theme festivals with original material presentation, workshops and live performances. One of the festival’s main attractions is a special tribute presentation to mobile applications, which includes selected application trials by the public and a free workshop on creating one’s own application. The festival will be on until May 20. Greek News Agenda: 7th Athens Video Art Festival 2011
Situated on the Ionian coast of Epirus and surrounded by olive groves and emerald sea, the picturesque town of Parga boasts the island-like vibe that makes it "an island in the mainland." The town was built in the early 11th century and was under Venetian rule for the largest part of its history (1401-1797). The passage to Ottoman rule (1801) signifies a landmark in the city’s history: refusing to live under Ottoman rule, 4,000 Pargans exiled themselves to Corfu on Good Friday of that year, only to return in 1913, when Parga became part of the Greek state.
The icons, soil and relics they kept during the 112-year exile are kept in the city’s Church Museum. For its picturesque architecture and sunset views, Parga is a favourite with romantics. The near-by beaches make it one of the most popular destinations in Epirus, with sandy Lichnos Beach the most famous.
The Castle of Parga stands on a hill and offers magnificent views of the town and the bay. Although an exponent of Venetian architecture (with the Lion of Venice at its entrance), it also features a hammam (Turkish baths), as the Ottoman Pasha installed his harem’s apartments in the upper part of the fortifications. Kathimerini: Parga: Guarded Jewel
